Santiago de Compostela derailment
' The Santiago de Compostela derailment' occurred on 24 July 2013, when an Alvia high-speed train travelling from Madrid to Ferrol, in the north-west of Spain, derailed at high speed on a curve about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) outside of the railway station at Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Of the 222 people (218 passengers and 4 crew) aboard, around 140 were injured and 79 died. The train's data recorder showed that it was travelling at about twice the posted speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) when it entered a bend in the line. The crash was recorded on a track-side camera which shows all thirteen vehicles derailing and four overturning. On 28 July 2013, the train's driver Francisco José Garzón Amo was charged with 79 counts of homicide by professional recklessness and an undetermined number of counts of causing injury by professional recklessness. The crash was Spain's worst rail disaster in 40 years, since a crash near El Cuervo, Seville, in 1972. The Torre del Bierzo crash in 1944 remains the deadliest. Background See also: Rail transport in SpainSpain has one of the world's most extensive high-speed railway (HSR) networks, built and maintained by the infrastructure company Adif and run by the state-owned operator Renfe that manages the rolling stock. The Olmedo-Zamora-Galicia high-speed rail line is only partially completed, with some sections of the HSR already in service while other sections still remain as a conventional railway line. The RENFE Class 730 passenger train is in service on this line, as it can run on both conventional and high-speed tracks. It also has two generator cars that allow its electric traction motors to function on non-electrified lines. It is essentially a hybrid system. It has a top speed of 180 kilometres per hour (110 mph) when running in diesel mode, and around 260 kilometres per hour (160 mph) when running on overhead electrification. Derailment At 20:41 CEST (18:41 UTC) on 24 July 2013 the passenger train, on an express route from Madrid Chamartín railway station to Ferrol, derailed on a section of conventional track at the end of the Olmedo-Zamora-Galicia line, at Angrois in Santiago de Compostela. All vehicles, the two power cars, their adjacent generator cars – both with diesel tanks – at both ends of the train and the nine intermediate carriages, derailed as the train rounded the A Grandeira curve; four cars overturned. A track-side CCTV camera video indicates that the front generator car was the first to leave the rails, followed by the leading passenger coaches, the front power car, the rear generator car and finally the rear power car. The train was carrying 218 passengers at the time of the crash. Three of the carriages were torn apart in the accident and another caught fire due to gaseous leaking diesel fuel. The rear generator car also caught fire. Unofficial technical reports disclose that the train was travelling at over twice the posted speed limit when it entered the curve. Of the 218 passengers, there were 79 fatalities (at one point reported as 80 due to a misidentification of some body parts) and 140 injured. The train's two drivers were injured but survived. On 25 July, 36 of the injured were still listed as being in a serious condition. Category:Europe Category:Spain Category:2013